Washboard



(No Model.) I

H. J.'GILBERT.

- WASHBOARD.- N0.'504,O28.

Patented Alig. 29, 1893.

UNTTE STATES ATENT FFICE.

HENRY J ."GILBERT, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

WASHBOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 504,028, dated August 29, 1893.

Application filed December 1'7, 1892- $erial No. 455,425. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. GILBERT, of Saginaw, 1n the county of Saginaw and State of M1chigan,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Washboards, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to the novel combinatlon of a protecting board or protector with the upper end or top rail of a wash board. Thzs protector is pivoted at its ends in supporting plates or straps which are in turn pivoted to the ends of the top rail of the wash board, or to the sides of the upper ends of the legs or side bars thereof. One edge of the protector (or both edges if desired) is arranged to fit against and co-operate with one or both edges of the top rail, to form a tight oint, when the protector is swung into posit on for use at substantially a right angle to the plane of the Wash board, the co-operating edges of the protector and top rail being suitably shaped for this purpose.

The novelty of my invention consistsin the combination of the protector with the top rail of the wash board by means of the plates pivoted to the edges of the board and in which plates the protector is itself pivoted to render it capable of co-operating with the edge or edges of the top rail in the manner hereinafter described to form a close joint and to maintain the protector in position for use; also in the provision of stops or shoulder rests for the plates which carry the protector, to limit their movement in one direction; all as will be hereinafter set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a wash board provided with my novel protector, the latter being in position for the board to be packed for shipment, instead of the position it occupies when the board is in use; Fig. 2 an enlarged side elevation of the upper end of the wash board, with the protector in the same position; Fig. 3 a corresponding view, showing the protector started toward the position it is to occupy when in use; Fig. 4 a similar view showing the edge of the protector engaged in the groove in the edge of the top rail, just before the protector is forced fully into position; Fig.

5 a similar view with the protector in position for use.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the figures.

The body of the wash board, consisting of the legs or side bars A, zinc washing surface B, soap or print board 0, soap bar or holder D, and top rail E, may be constructed and secured together in the usual or any suitable manner.

The protector consists of a board F, whose length approximates the width of the washboard, and which is pivoted at its ends in the outer ends of metal plates or straps G, at a, which plates are in turn pivoted at their opposite ends to the edges of the wash board, in this instance to the ends of the top rail E thereof at b. One edge of the protector F is rounded or formed of other suitable shape to adapt it to co-operate with grooves H, preferably concave in cross-section, formed in the edges of the rail E. The upper portions of the'ends of the top rail E, to which the metal plates G are pivoted, are cut away, leaving ledges or shoulders I below said cut-away spaces.

In moving the protector from the shipping position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 into position for use, shown in Fig. 5,the lower edge of the protector is swung upward and forward (to the right), as shown in Fig. 3, to enable it to clear the corner of the top rail E when the protector is swung bodily forward upon the pivotal supports of the plates G. After the protector has been swung upon its own pivotal supports in the. plates G to the position shown in Fig. 3, it is swung bodily to the right until its lower edge has cleared the corner of the rail E. Then it is swung upon its own axis again, its upper edge to the right and its lower to the left, until the latter enters the groove H in the edgevof the rail E, as seen in Fig. 4:. In this position of the parts it will be seen that the middle point of contact between the edge of the protector and the groove H in the top rail, at c, is slightly below the line between pivotal points a b of the protector and plates G, the result being that the three pivotal points a b 0 form a sort of toggle joint, so that when the outer edge of the protector is forced farther downward until the three points are brought into a straight line the inner edge of the protector will be forced very tightly into the groove in the rail E and a close water-tight joint be thereby produced.

For the purpose of rigidly securing the protector in position for use and preventing its being accidentally displaced I prefer to force its outer edge downward far enough to carry the pivotal point 0 slightly below the line through the points a b, with the plates G resting upon the shoulders I, as seen in Fig. 5. These shoulders then prevent any farther downward movement of the protector, while the toggle-joint connection prevents any upward movement of it except by positive force applied to it, so that the protector is securely held in position against any ordinary knocks and jars. To restore the protector to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it is only necessary to force its outer edge upward until the point a is carried above the line through a b, whereupon the protector can be readily swung to the position shown in said figures.

Under the construction above described the protector is reversible and can be swung either to the right and applied to the right hand edge of the rail E, when that side of the wash board is to be used, or to the left and fitted in the groove in the left hand edge of the rail E in a similar manner when that side of the board is to be used; but it is evident that the invention may be employed upon a singlesided board, where the protector need not be reversible, in which case only one edge of the rail E need be provided with a groove H. Again, if desired, both edges of the protector may be shaped and adapted to co-operate with the grooves in the rail E, the pivotal points a in such case being located at the middle of the ends of the protector.

I am aware that wash boards have been provided with protectors pivoted and otherwise secured to their upper ends in various ways. I am also aware that in some instances it has been proposed to support the protector in metal plates or straps similar to the plates G I employ and pivoted to the edges of the board, but in such instances the protector has been rigidly secured to the pivoted metal plates, and not swiveled in them as is my protector. So far as I knowI am the first in the art to combine a protector with the top rail of a wash board by means of plates or straps such as G pivoted to the edges of the board and having the protector itself pivotally supported in them, and I desire to secure such combination broadly, as well as the other novel features of my invention which have been above set forth.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. In a wash board, the combination of the top rail E, the plates G pivoted to the board, and the protector F pivoted at its ends to the plates G and co-operating with the rail E in the manner and for the purpose described.

2. In a wash board, the combination of the top rail E having portions of its ends cut away to form the shoulders I, the plates G pivoted to the board and adapted to rest upon the shoulders I, and the protector F pivotally supported by the plates G and co-operating with the rail E, substantially as described.

3. In a wash board, the combination, with the top rail E having an edge provided with a groove H, of the plates G pivoted to the board, and the protector F pivoted at its ends to the plates G and having one of its edges adapted to co-operate with the groove 11 in the top rail E, in the manner described.

4. In a Wash-board, the combination, with the top-rail E having an edge provided with a groove H, and also having the upper portions of its opposite ends cut away to form the supporting shoulders I, of the plates G pivoted to the ends of the rail E above the shoulders I and adapted to rest upon the latter when brought to horizontal position, and the protector F carried by the plates G and having one of its edges adapted to co-operate with the groove H in the top-rail E.

5. In a wash board, the combination, with the top rail E provided at its ends with stops or shoulders, as I, and having the concave grooves H in its opposite edges, of the plates G pivoted to the board and adapted to be swung to either side and rest upon the shoulders I, and the reversible protector F pivot ally supported in the plates G and adapted to co-operate with the grooves H in the rail E in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY J. GILBERT.

Witnesses:

N. S. WOOD, MARY O. FOWLER. 

